“What are you thinking about” Lulu, my parrot asked me. I was on my morning walk on the garden’s walking track. “When you walk, your thinking starts. It is as if walking switches on your brain.”

“So true, Lulu” I stopped under a Peltophorum tree. There were so many Peltophorums in the garden. Lulu perched on its tree, flew in and made a soft landing on shoulder. “It is so true in my case.”

“Tell me, what are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing serious. I was thinking about what present to buy for our 42^nd wedding anniversary.”

“What did you buy for the first wedding anniversary?”

“Gold ear rings. That was all which I could barely afford.”

“And for the 32^nd?”

“Oh, Hmmmm….., I don’t remember!”

“For the 39^th? Just three years ago?”

“Ok, Let me think….. Oooooooh! I don’t remember.”

“Why is it that you remember the first Gift given forty-two years ago and do not remember the more recent gifts?”

“Ha ha! Embarrassing. But true. Let me think…. I really cannot explain.”

“Does it have something to do with excitement associated with the event? I guess anything which becomes a routine loses it. After all, as one website puts the cold facts, on the 42nd anniversary of your marriage you would have been married for 15,330 days or 367,920 hours or 22,075,200 minutes which is over 1,324 million seconds!”

“Ha ha ha! I guess you are right about the excitement wearing off.”

“So, what are you buying for her as 42^nd anniversary gift?”

“Tell me Lulu, must we express love and affection only by giving a gift? I checked internet. There is no specific gift for the 42^nd anniversary. The world recognises what you said – anything which becomes routine loses excitement.”

“If events become routine, excitement must be created imaginatively, it should be infused in that event” Lulu admonished me. “That’s the way to live life. Otherwise no two days in your life will be different.”

Lulu flipped his wings, flew up and landed again on the Peltophorum tree. Its beautiful yellow flowers fell on my head, and so also some red ants. They stung me.

Vivek S Patwardhan